Fiona Hunter: Cultivating our way forward

It’s March 2021 and Spring is in the air in Europe. So, what does this season of new growth and new potential mean to those of us working in international higher education? As governments all over the world work to roll out vaccination programmes that will hopefully take us all out of lockdown, this may be a key moment to step back from the frontline of crisis management and consider a measured approach to the work that lies ahead.

For former EAIE president and international higher education educator and consultant Fiona Hunter, the metaphor of the garden and its cultivation always offers an apt perspective from which to consider institutional development. As we emerge now from a season of ‘hibernation’, this metaphor may make even more sense for many of us today.

In this episode of our podcast series, we explore some of Fiona’s perspectives on the fundamentals of institutional development, many of which align with the skills and virtues that a gardener brings to their craft. Of course, like the gardener, we are subject to some variables that are simply beyond our control. Ultimately, however, our commitment to certain principles can allow us to ensure that international higher education is well-positioned to ride out any crisis.

About Fiona Hunter

Fiona Hunter is Associate Director at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, and Co-Editor of the Journal of Studies for International Education (JSIE). As a consultant and trainer, she has assisted universities around the world on strategic change and internationalisation. She is a former President of the EAIE.

Further reading

For further insights into the topics touched on in this episode, the following resources may be of interest:

→ Fiona Hunter's website: https://huntersparnon.com/

→ Transforming Internationalization Through Partnerships (Susan Buck Sutton)

→ F. Hunter & N. Sparnon, An Illustrated Guide to Managing Institutions of Higher Education, Leiden 2021

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